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PVRTune
User Manual
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Filename
:
PVRTune.User Manual
Version
:
PowerVR SDK REL_3.5@3649239a External Issue
Issue Date
:
22 Jul 2015
Author
:
Imagination Technologies Limited
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Contents
1.
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5
1.1.
Document Overview ........................................................................................................... 5
1.2.
Software Overview.............................................................................................................. 5
2.
PVRPerfServer ............................................................................................................................ 7
2.1.
Overview ............................................................................................................................. 7
2.2.
Requirements ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.3.
Installation ........................................................................................................................... 7
2.3.1.
Package Installation ................................................................................................. 7
2.3.2.
Android ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.3.3.
Linux ......................................................................................................................... 7
2.3.4.
Neutrino and Windows ............................................................................................. 7
2.4.
Driver Compatibility............................................................................................................. 7
2.4.1.
Compatible DDK Ranges ......................................................................................... 7
2.5.
Usage ................................................................................................................................. 8
2.5.1.
Android ..................................................................................................................... 8
2.5.2.
Linux ......................................................................................................................... 8
2.5.3.
Neutrino and Windows ............................................................................................. 8
2.5.4.
Command-Line Options ........................................................................................... 8
2.5.5.
Run-Time Options .................................................................................................... 8
3.
PVRTune GUI .............................................................................................................................10
3.1.
The Basics ........................................................................................................................10
3.1.1.
Overview.................................................................................................................10
3.1.2.
Installation ..............................................................................................................10
3.1.3.
User Interface Layout .............................................................................................10
3.1.4.
Getting Started with Analysing an Application .......................................................11
3.2.
Menu Bar ..........................................................................................................................12
3.2.1.
File Menu ................................................................................................................12
3.2.2.
Edit Menu ...............................................................................................................13
3.2.3.
View Menu ..............................................................................................................14
3.2.4.
Connection Menu ...................................................................................................16
3.2.5.
Help Menu ..............................................................................................................16
3.3.
Connection Management .................................................................................................18
3.3.1.
Connect to a Target Device....................................................................................18
3.3.2.
Connect Using a Broadcasting Server ...................................................................18
3.3.3.
Connect via Localhost ............................................................................................18
3.3.4.
Connect Using a Recent Connection .....................................................................19
3.3.5.
Connect Using a Saved File ...................................................................................19
3.3.6.
Alternative Ways of Connecting .............................................................................19
3.3.7.
View Connection Status .........................................................................................19
3.3.8.
View and Modify PVRPerfServer Settings .............................................................20
3.3.9.
Close a Connection ................................................................................................21
3.4.
Monitor Window: Performance at a Glance ......................................................................22
3.5.
Working with the Timeline ................................................................................................23
3.5.1.
Using the Graph View ............................................................................................23
3.5.2.
Timing Data ............................................................................................................26
3.5.3.
Event List ................................................................................................................28
3.6.
Working with Counters .....................................................................................................32
3.6.1.
Select Columns to Display .....................................................................................32
3.6.2.
Add a Counter to the Graph View ..........................................................................34
3.6.3.
Remove a Counter from the Graph View ...............................................................35
3.6.4.
Counter Legend in the Timeline Area ....................................................................35
3.6.5.
PVRTrace Software Counters ................................................................................36
3.6.6.
Counter Properties .................................................................................................37
3.7.
Process ID (PID) Window .................................................................................................39
3.8.
Remote Editor Window .....................................................................................................39
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3.9.
Renderstate Override Window .........................................................................................39
3.9.1.
OpenGL ES Timing Data........................................................................................41
3.10.
Find Window .....................................................................................................................41
4.
Identifying Bottlenecks ............................................................................................................42
4.1.
CPU Limited......................................................................................................................42
4.2.
Vertex Limited ...................................................................................................................43
4.3.
V-Sync Limited..................................................................................................................43
4.4.
Fragment Limited ..............................................................................................................44
4.5.
Bandwidth Limited ............................................................................................................44
5.
Contact Details ..........................................................................................................................45
Appendix A.
Hardware Terms: Quick Reference .......................................................................46
List of Figures
Figure 1. Structure of PVRTune .............................................................................................................. 6
Figure 2. General layout of PVRTune GUI ........................................................................................... 11
Figure 3. File menu ............................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 4. Edit menu ............................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 5. Preferences dialog box .......................................................................................................... 14
Figure 6. View menu ............................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 7. Connection menu ................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 8. Help menu .............................................................................................................................. 17
Figure 9. Connection interface displayed after launching PVRTune GUI ............................................. 18
Figure 10. PVRPerfServer Details dialog box ....................................................................................... 20
Figure 11. Monitor window .................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 12. Graphical representation of captured data .......................................................................... 23
Figure 13. Example of Tiler and Renderer timing data ......................................................................... 26
Figure 14. Transfer tasks ...................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 15. Example of task colour coding ............................................................................................. 28
Figure 16. Example of driver timing data .............................................................................................. 28
Figure 17. Example of active counters changed ................................................................................... 29
Figure 18. Example of event ordinal reset ............................................................................................ 29
Figure 19. Example of custom mark ..................................................................................................... 30
Figure 20. Example of power-off period ................................................................................................ 30
Figure 21. Example of data loss period ................................................................................................ 31
Figure 22. Example of hardware reset period ....................................................................................... 31
Figure 23. Example of SPM mode ........................................................................................................ 31
Figure 24. Counter Table window ......................................................................................................... 32
Figure 25. Dialog box for selecting and deselecting columns ............................................................... 33
Figure 26. Adding a counter to a graph view ........................................................................................ 34
Figure 27. Creating a new graph by adding a counter to a graph placeholder ..................................... 34
Figure 28. Counter Properties window .................................................................................................. 38
Figure 29. PID window .......................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 30. Remote Editor window ......................................................................................................... 39
Figure 31. Renderstate Override window ............................................................................................. 40
Figure 32. Find window ......................................................................................................................... 41
Figure 33. Identifying CPU limited applications .................................................................................... 42
Figure 34. Identifying vertex limited applications .................................................................................. 43
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Figure 35. Identifying fragment limited applications .............................................................................. 44
List of Tables
Table 1. Command-line options .............................................................................................................. 8
Table 2. Run-time hotkeys ...................................................................................................................... 9
Table 3. Connection status information in the Status bar ..................................................................... 19
Table 4. Information captured in the PVRPerfServer Details dialog box .............................................. 20
Table 5. Summary of columns and their description ............................................................................. 33
Table 6. List of PVRTrace software counters ....................................................................................... 36
Table 7. Explanation of renderstate override options ........................................................................... 40
Table 8. Quick reference of hardware terms......................................................................................... 46
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1. Introduction
1.1.
Document Overview
The purpose of this document is to serve as a complete user manual for PVRTune and
PVRPerfServer. It includes installation instructions, functionality explanations and useful tips on how
to make the most out of the applications.
1.2.
Software Overview
PVRTune is a performance analysis tool for the PowerVR graphics cores. It uses driver level counters
and hardware registers to provide real-time data on the performance of an application running on a
PowerVR graphics core. PVRTune receives performance data from either PVRPerfServer or PVRHub
running on the target device.
Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual structure of PVRTune in relationship to the interactions taking place
at the client software, device software and device hardware levels. The following concepts are
relevant to the figure:

PVRPerfServer: This is an application which runs on the target device and reads counters and
registers from the driver (and also, optionally, from any application which uses the PVRScope
library) and either saves the data to a PVRTUNE file or transmits the data to PVRTune over a
network.

PVRHub: This is an application which runs on Android or Linux and allows an instance of
PVRPerfServer or PVRTrace to run on the target device. For the remainder of this document,
all PVRPerfServer functionality can be accomplished using PVRHub, unless otherwise stated.

PVRScope: This is a performance analysis library that retrieves graphics core counter data and
works alongside PVRTune to augment it with custom markers and counters.

PVRTune: This is the client-side element of the combined package. It provides a graphical
representation of the real-time information being sent by PVRPerfServer, as well as providing a
means to save and load PVRTUNE files.
Note: On Android, PVRHub is an application that has a user interface. On Linux, it is a set of folders
and scripts. For more information regarding PVRHub, see the “PVRHub User Manual”.
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Client Software
PVRTune
Network Connection
Device Software
PVRPerfServer
of PVRHub
PVRScope Enabled
Application
PVRScope
PVRScopeServices
(Device Driver)
PVRTune
Device Hardware
Figure 1. Structure of PVRTune
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2. PVRPerfServer
2.1.
Overview
PVRPerfServer is a console application for Android, Linux, Neutrino and Windows. Its purpose is to
read counters and registers from the PowerVR hardware on a device and either save the data to a
PVRTUNE file or transmit that data to PVRTune over a network.
2.2.
Requirements
In order for PVRPerfServer to function correctly, the driver must have performance profiling enabled.
In many cases, as the overhead is so small, this functionality is available by default. This can be
checked by confirming the existence of PVRScopeServices.dll, libPVRScopeServices.so or
an equivalent. If PVRPerfServer fails to initialise, it is likely that performance profiling support has
been removed from the device drivers.
2.3.
Installation
2.3.1.
Package Installation
PVRTrace can be installed from the PowerVR SDK installer:
1.
2.
3.
Navigate to the PowerVR Insider SDK webpage (powervrinsider.com) and download the SDK.
Launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
Once the SDK has been successfully installed, PVRPerfServer can be found within the
PVRTune folder in the install directory:
<InstallDir>\PVRTuneDeveloper\PVRPerfServer\<PLATFORM>\
2.3.2.
Android
PVRPerfServer functionality is obtained by installing PVRHub for Android. To install this application,
run adb install PVRHub.apk on the local machine.
2.3.3.
Linux
With the package successfully installed, copy the PVRHub folder to the target device and follow the
instructions found in the “PVRHub User Manual”.
2.3.4.
Neutrino and Windows
With the package successfully installed, copy the PVRPerfServer binary to the target device.
2.4.
Driver Compatibility
2.4.1.
Compatible DDK Ranges
On PowerVR hardware devices, PVRPerfServer is limited to supporting the following driver versions:

1.3.13.1589 onwards.

1.4.14.593 onwards.
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Usage
2.5.1.
Android
With the Android APK installed, open the application menu and run PVRHub.
2.5.2.
Linux
From a command-line interface run pvr_profile <binary>, where <binary> is the desired
application for profiling.
2.5.3.
Neutrino and Windows
From a command-line interface run the PVRPerfServer executable.
Note: Only one client at a time may be connected to an instance of PVRPerfServer.
2.5.4.
Command-Line Options
PVRPerfServer supports several command-line options as identified next.
Table 1. Command-line options
Option
Effect
-h
Show help text.
/?
Show help text.
--disable-hwperf
Disables the use of PVRScope‟s hardware performance functionality.
--group=N
On start-up, switch the hardware to the specified counter group
number.
--port=N
Network port to use. Default is 6520.
--sendto=”myfile”
Instead of using the network, record data directly to the specified file.
--t=N
Time, in milliseconds, between counter updates. The default value is 2.
This value can be increased to reduce the CPU usage of
PVRPerfServer.
--c=N
Time, in milliseconds, between CPU Load updates. The default value is
200.
--pid
Gather data for CPU usage, memory usage and PID executable name
of relevant programs.
--pid=N,M
Gather data for CPU usage, memory usage and PID executable name
of relevant programs. In addition, track the specified PIDs.
--periodic=1/0
Enables/disables periodic timing tasks (for use when recording to a
file).
--graphics=1/0
Enables/disables graphics timing tasks (for use when recording to a
file).
--qat=N
Commands PVRPerfServer to auto-quit after a specified number of
seconds
2.5.5.
Run-Time Options
PVRPerfServer supports several key-presses at run-time. This is summarised in Table 2.
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Table 2. Run-time hotkeys
Key
Effect
H
Show help text.
M
Send a mark. Useful for placing simple markers into the data stream,
annotated with a number that increments for each mark.
Q
Quit PVRPerfServer.
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3. PVRTune GUI
3.1.
The Basics
3.1.1.
Overview
The PVRTune GUI captures and presents the real-time information sent by PVRPerfServer and also
provides a means of saving and loading PVRTUNE files for analysis.
3.1.2.
Installation
PVRTune GUI can be installed from the PowerVR SDK installer:
1.
2.
3.
Navigate to the PowerVR Insider SDK webpage (powervrinsider.com) and download the SDK.
Launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.
Once the SDK has been successfully installed, PVRTune GUI will be available in:
<InstallDir>\PVRTuneDeveloper\PVRTune\<PLATFORM>\
3.1.3.
User Interface Layout
The default analysis interface is displayed after a connection has been established or after a
PVRTUNE file has been loaded (see Section 3.3 for more information on how to connect). The
PVRTune GUI displays a large amount of information (Figure 2), split into the following sections:

Menu bar (Figure 2a): The section enables access to several options related to file, edit, view,
connection and help.

Timeline area (Figure 2b): This section displays counter data as a function of time.

Counter Table window (Figure 2c): This section lists all the hardware and software counters
that are in use.

Counter Properties window (Figure 2d): This section is used to view counter-specific
information when a counter is chosen from the Counter Table.

Find window (Figure 2e): This section allows the user to search for a variety of items, such as
counters and markers.

Renderstate Override window (Figure 2f): This section allows the user to interact with the
renderstate of the target device.

Monitor window (Figure 2g): This section displays various loads recorded by the utility.

Remote Editor window (Figure 2h): This section details data from PVRScope.

PID window (Figure 2i): This section displays the connections being used in the recording.

Status bar (Figure 2j): This section provides general information pertaining to the running of
PVRTune.
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(b)
(e)
(c)
(f)
(i)
(d)
(g)
(h)
(j)
Figure 2. General layout of PVRTune GUI
3.1.4.
Getting Started with Analysing an Application
There are several benefits to using PVRTune to analyse an application, and the achievement of
effective analysis is largely driven by the ability to understand how to identify application bottlenecks
(see Section 4). By analysing an application, it is possible to obtain improved frame rate to increase
user enjoyment and application responsiveness. Furthermore, using PVRTune allows reduced render
time to be obtained without increased frame rate in order to gain more idle time, thereby saving
power. Analysing using PVRTune can also help increase visual quality without sacrificing frame rate.
There are two main approaches to analysing an application in PVRTune, namely through connected
analysis (which displays real-time data) and offline analysis (from a saved PVRTUNE file). These
main steps involved in these two approaches are summarised next.
Connected Analysis
Connected analysis is the assessment of real-time data from a target device connected using
PVRPerfServer. The core steps to performing a connected analysis are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ensure that the target device is using the PowerVR device drivers.
Boot the target device.
Install PVRPerfServer on the target device.
If necessary, initialise the PowerVR device drivers.
Run PVRPerfServer. If successful PVRPerfServer outputs the server name, IP address and
port number.
Run PVRTune GUI on the host machine. It is important that both PVRTune and PVRPerfServer
have matching versions.
If PVRPerfServer is on the same subnet as PVRTune, the target device will be broadcast in
PVRTune GUI (see Section 3.3.2). If this is not the case, then manually enter the IP address of
the server (see Section 3.3.1).
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Once successfully connected, identify the bottleneck in the application by analysing the output
of PVRTune (for more information, see Section 4).
Attempt to resolve the bottleneck. For more information on optimization techniques, see the
document entitled “PowerVR Performance Recommendations”.
Repeat the necessary steps with the newly optimized application until performance is at the
required level or no further bottlenecks can be identified.
Offline Analysis
It is possible to analyse an application without being directly connected to PVRPerfServer. This
requires a PVRTUNE file of the target application to have been created prior to analysis. This
approach is particularly useful when large amounts of data are being lost due to network load or high
CPU usage on the client machine.
A PVRTUNE file can be created either through the use of the --sendto= command-line parameter
for PVRPerfServer, or by saving the file of an existing tune using PVRTune GUI (see Section “Save a
File”).
Note: PVRPerfServer only saves counter data for a single counter group when using the --sendto=
parameter. By default the group is set to zero but this can be changed using the --group=
command-line parameter.
With a PVRTUNE file created and copied across to an accessible location, perform the following
steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify the version of PVRTune and PVRPerfServer used to create the file.
Run the version of PVRTune that matches the identified PVRPerfServer version.
Open the file in PVRTune GUI (see Section 3.3.5). PVRTune GUI will then display the tuning
data.
Identify the bottleneck.
Attempt to resolve the bottleneck. For more information on optimization techniques, see the
document entitled “PowerVR Performance Recommendations”.
Repeat the necessary steps with the newly optimized application until performance is at the
required level or no further bottlenecks can be identified.
3.2.
3.2.1.
Menu Bar
File Menu
Figure 3 illustrates the File menu which provides options for opening and saving files, managing
tabs and exiting PVRTune GUI.
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Figure 3. File menu
Open a New Tab
To open a new tab in the Timeline area, click File -> New Tab (Figure 3). This is a useful
feature that allows multiple graph views to be opened at the same time.
Close a Currently Selected Tab
Closing the currently selected tab in the Timeline area can be achieved by clicking File ->
Close Tab (Figure 3).
Rename a Tab
Tabs present in the Timeline area can be renamed on-demand. To rename a tab, select it and
click File -> Rename Tab (Figure 3).
Open a File
To open a PVRTUNE file, click File -> Open (Figure 3). This will open a dialog box for browsing to
the required file.
Save a File
To save a PVRTUNE file, click File -> Save (Figure 3). This will open a dialog box in which the
name of the file can be input and the file saved.
Exit PVRTune
To close PVRTune GUI, click File -> Exit (Figure 3).
3.2.2.
Edit Menu
Figure 4 illustrates the Edit menu which provides options for editing user preferences.
Figure 4. Edit menu
Preferences
User preferences are set by clicking Edit -> Preferences… in the Menu bar. This opens the
Preferences dialog box (Figure 5) which displays various options to enable the customization of
PVRTune GUI. The Preferences dialog box contains several options:

Background: This option is available under the Graph section of the Preferences dialog box
and allows the background colour of graph in the Timeline area to be changed from the
default setting to either light or dark, in order to make it easier to depict lines.
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
Draw Marks across all timelines: This option is turned off by default but can be toggled if
necessary to show up marks in the Timeline area.

Hide empty timelines: Toggle this option to show or hide empty timelines in the Timeline
area.

Zoom control: invert mouse wheel: This option is available under the Graph section of the
Preferences dialog box. The mouse wheel can be used to zoom in and out of a graph in the
Timeline area. With the option unchecked, i.e., set to default, scrolling down zooms into the
area while scrolling up zooms out of it. This default setting can be inverted by ticking the Zoom
control: invert mouse wheel checkbox.

Integrate connection form: This option is available under the User Interface section of
the Preferences dialog box. Unchecking this option enables the user to make the connection
form (see Section 3.3) a pop up window.

Hide unnecessary tabs: This option is available under the User Interface section of the
Preferences dialog box and, if unchecked, an individual tab is assigned for the connection
form in the Timeline area. This facilitates quick access to the connection form after a
connection is made or with a file loaded.
Figure 5. Preferences dialog box
3.2.3.
View Menu
Figure 6 illustrates the View menu. The menu provides options for finding information as well as
showing or hiding the various windows present in the PVRTune GUI, thereby allowing for workspace
customization.
Note: The workspace can also be customized by dragging and dropping the individual dockable
sections to either the right or left hand sides of the interface or as standalone windows.
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Figure 6. View menu
Find
To initiate a search, click View -> Find… (Figure 6). This will open the Find window or jump to it
for carrying subsequent steps in searching for information (see Section 3.9.1).
Use Default Counter Y-Axis Scales
Selecting the Use Default Counter Y-Axis Scales option (Figure 6) informs PVRTune to use
its default Y-axis values for counters. The information appears in the Y Axis field in the Counter
Properties window.
Insert New Graph Pane
This option (Figure 6) allows adding a new graph within the selected view in the Timeline area.
Restore Default Graph Panes
This option (Figure 6) causes only the timing data to display in the Timeline area, hiding additional
graph panes. The timing data then occupies the full space within the Timeline area.
Toggle Single Window Layout
To switch to a single window layout for the graph displayed in the Timeline area (see Section
3.5.1), toggle the option View -> Single window Layout (Figure 6).
Toggle Split Window Layout
To switch to a split window layout for the graph displayed in the Timeline area, toggle View ->
Split Window Layout (Figure 6). This organises two graph views within the same tab.
Customize Counter Table Columns
To customize the display of columns in the Counter Table window (see Section 3.6.1), click View
-> Select Columns… (Figure 6). This will open a dialog box to allow the selection of the required
columns (see Section 3.6.1).
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Refresh PVRTune GUI
To refresh PVRTune GUI, click View -> Refresh (Figure 6).
Show or Hide Counter Table Window
To show or hide the Counter Table window, toggle View -> Counter Table (Figure 6).
Show or Hide Counter Properties Window
To show or hide the Counter Properties window (see Section 3.6.6), toggle View -> Counter
Properties (Figure 6).
Show or Hide Renderstate Override Window
To show or hide the Renderstate Override window (see Section 3.9), toggle View ->
Renderstate Override (Figure 6).
Show or Hide PID Window
To show or hide the PID window (see Section 3.7), toggle View -> PID (Figure 6).
Show or Hide Find Window
To show or hide the Find window (see Section 3.9.1), toggle View -> Search (Figure 6).
How or Hide Remote Editor Window
To show or hide the Remote Editor window (see Section 3.8), toggle View -> Remote Editor
(Figure 6).
Show or Hide Monitor Window
To show or hide the Monitor window (see Section 3.4), toggle View -> Monitor (Figure 6).
3.2.4.
Connection Menu
Figure 7 illustrates the Connection menu which is used for connection management purposes. A
number of options are available from this menu and these are covered in further detail in Section 3.3.
Figure 7. Connection menu
3.2.5.
Help Menu
The Help menu is opened by selecting the appropriate option from the Menu bar (Figure 8). It
provides options for accessing PVRTune help assets, sending feedback, viewing general PVRTune
release information and checking for software updates.
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Figure 8. Help menu
View PVRTune User Manual
To view the “PVRTune User Manual”, click Help -> PVRTune Help (Figure 8).
Submit Feedback
To provide feedback, click Help -> Feedback… This will open a dialog box where instructions are
displayed on how to post feedback and request for support (Figure 8).
Check for Updates
As of SDK release 3.0, PVRTune is able to auto-update. However, to force-check for software
updates, click Help -> Check for Updates (Figure 8).
About PVRTune
To view basic information about PVRTune release information such as versioning and contact details,
click Help -> About… (Figure 8).
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Connection Management
Establishing a connection is a fundamental step prior to being able to visualize hardware performance
data in PVRTune GUI. The connection management capability of PVRTune provides a range of
options to facilitate the task of connecting. Upon launching PVRTune, the connection form is
displayed as shown in Figure 9. Notice that the various windows and options used for analysis
purposes are disabled at that point, until a valid connection is made or a PVRTUNE file is loaded.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 9. Connection interface displayed after launching PVRTune GUI
Note: The connection form can be customized as a pop window and can also be assigned an
individual tab in the Timeline area (see Section “Preferences”).
3.3.1.
Connect to a Target Device
To connect to a target device, perform the following steps:
1.
2.
Enter an IP address or IP resolvable name of the target device into the Connect to: box
(Figure 9a).
Click the Go button to start the connection. If an instance of PVRPerfServer is found, PVRTune
will connect to the target device.
3.3.2.
Connect Using a Broadcasting Server
When launched, and periodically after launch, PVRPerfServer broadcasts its existence to the subnet
to which it is connected. PVRTune GUI lists all the instances of PVRPerfServer broadcasting on the
user‟s subnet in the area of the connection form identified in Figure 9b. Connection can be
established by selecting the desired target IP address in the list.
3.3.3.
Connect via Localhost
Connecting via localhost implies the establishment of a connection between PVRTune and an
instance of PVRPerfServer running on the same device that PVRTune is running on. The option for
connecting via localhost will be displayed in the connection form if it can be reached.
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Note: PVRTune uses TCP port 6520 to send data to and from Android devices. In order to setup a
localhost connection, adb forward must be used to forward TCP data across the USB
connection. To run adb forward, enter the following command in a command prompt:
adb forward tcp:6520 tcp:6520
3.3.4.
Connect Using a Recent Connection
Recently used connections and PVRTUNE file paths are listed in the area of the connection form
identified in Figure 9c. This area also lists recently accessed PVRTUNE files, if any. To connect using
a recently used connection, select the desired connection from the list.
3.3.5.
Connect Using a Saved File
A saved PVRTUNE file can be loaded by clicking File -> Open and browsing to the required file
(see Section “Open a File”).
3.3.6.
Alternative Ways of Connecting
It is possible, using the Connection menu (see Figure 7), to control some aspects of connection
management. These are:

Establish a new connection: Select the New option in the Connection menu to open a
dialog box for inputting the IP address or IP resolvable name. This is essentially the same
procedure discussed in Section 3.3.1.

Connect via localhost: Select the localhost option in the Connection menu to connect via
localhost. This is essentially the same procedure discussed in Section 3.3.3.

Connect using a recent connection: Select the Recent Connections option in the
Connection menu to view a list of previously accessed connections and choose the desired
connection from the list. This is essentially the same procedure discussed in Section 3.3.4.
3.3.7.
View Connection Status
Data related to the connection status of PVRTune is displayed in the Status bar area of PVRTune
GUI (see Figure 2j). Table 3 lists the details of the data that is displayed, from left to right, in the
Status bar. An example of connection status data is:
Receiving 11.2640s (56607, 4922.58ps 0.000sp); 337.9KB/s; 0.7%; 0
Table 3. Connection status information in the Status bar
Data
Description
Status
This indicates the current status of PVRTune. The options available
are: Connecting, Receiving and Disconnected.
Time
This indicates for how long PVRTune has been receiving data or
was connected (if the current status is disconnected).
Count
The number of times PVRTune has performed an action related to
its current status (e.g., if PVRTune is receiving data, then the count
indicates the number of times it has received data from
PVRPerfServer).
Count per second
The rate at which the count value moves per second.
Gap
The average time period between actions as measured by the count
value.
Receive rate
The rate at which PVRTune is receiving data.
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Data
Description
DC%
The percentage progress towards automatic disconnect due to
memory usage (after PVRTune has recorded 1GB of data, it
disconnects from PVRPerfServer).
Group
The currently active counter group.
3.3.8.
View and Modify PVRPerfServer Settings
Figure 10 illustrates the PVRPerfServer Details dialog box, which is accessed by selecting
Connection -> PVRPerfServer -> Details from the Menu bar. The dialog box can be used
to view the current PVRPerfServer information and modify certain settings. In other words, when
PVRTune is connected with PVRPerfServer, the dialog box allows PVRTune to remotely control the
counter groups that are currently active on PVRPerfServer. This in turn then activates or deactivates
certain counters on the PowerVR hardware.
Figure 10. PVRPerfServer Details dialog box
Note: Any warning encountered in the running of PVRPerfServer and PVRTune is also captured in
the dialog box.
Table 4 provides a description of the fields present in the PVRPerfServer Details dialog box.
Table 4. Information captured in the PVRPerfServer Details dialog box
Field
Description
Group
Active counter group on PVRPerfServer. Different counter
groups can be selected, as appropriate, to change their
settings.
Sample Time (ms)
Time, in milliseconds, between the hardware samples
taken by PVRPerfServer.
CPU Load sample time (ms)
Time, in milliseconds, between the CPU Load samples
taken by PVRPerfServer.
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Field
Description
Periodic Data Enable
When this option is ticked, PVRTune receives counter
updates much quicker than otherwise. This option is
enabled by default.
Timing Data Enable
When this option is ticked, PVRTune receives Tiler or
Renderer timing data. This option is enabled by default.
Operating System
Name and version details of the operating system of the
target device.
Driver name
Version of the PowerVR driver being used.
Device Variant
Variant-specific details of the device.
Device Series
Series-specific details of the device.
Server Description
PVRPerfServer name and version number.
Server Build
Release and build version of PVRPerfServer.
Server Connection Time (local)
The local time at which PVRPerfServer became
connected.
Server Connection Time (UTC)
The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) at which
PVRPerfServer became connected.
Note: Clicking the Connection -> PVRPerfServer -> Send Quit Message option sends a
message to PVRPerfServer requesting the process to exit.
3.3.9.
Close a Connection
A connection can be closed on demand when it is no longer required. To close a connection, click
Connection -> Close. If real-time analysis is being performed, then clicking the Close option
once will first stop connection to PVRPerfServer, allowing the data to be saved as a PVRTUNE file or
for continuing the analysis as-is. Clicking the Close option a second time will exit the analysis and
return the user to the connection form. On the other hand, in the case of offline analysis from a
previously saved PVRTUNE file, clicking the Close option simply exits the analysis and returns the
user to the connection form.
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Monitor Window: Performance at a Glance
PVRTune GUI comes with a monitoring functionality which allows the user to view a high level
overview of graphics core workloads, thereby giving insight on how to isolate application bottlenecks.
The Monitor window displays and categorises the various loads being tracked by PVRTune, as shown
in Figure 11. The dropdown box for the time period (Figure 11a) facilitates choosing over how long the
loads should be averaged. In the example, this time period is set to the default 0.5s value.
Note: Further information on how to analyse bottlenecks can be found in Section 4.
(a)
Figure 11. Monitor window
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Working with the Timeline
The captured data is plotted in the Timeline area of PVRTune GUI and displayed as a graphical
representation in order to facilitate analysis. Figure 12 illustrates an example of static data displayed
after a saved PVRTUNE file is opened, using the default graph view. The information is split into three
distinct graphs, which capture render timing data and counter data.
Note: If the analysis were based on real-time profiling, which is dynamic in nature, the displayed
timing data would appear to be continuously changing with time.
(f)
(d)
(e)
(b)
(c)
(a)
Figure 12. Graphical representation of captured data
3.5.1.
Using the Graph View
A number of user actions can be performed when interacting with the graph view. These are
documented next.
Zoom in and out of a Graph
Zooming in and out of a graph is a useful feature for being able to visualize details of the captured
data as well as to have a more general perspective of the trend of the data as a whole. One method
of zooming in and out is to use the scroll button of a mouse in the graph view. Alternatively, a zoom
value can be specified in the Zoom field (Figure 12a). The lower the zoom value, the bigger the
magnification and vice versa.
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Note: By default, scrolling up decreases the size of the graph whereas scrolling down zooms into it.
The mouse scroll order can be inverted by using the Preferences dialog box (see Section
“Preferences”).
Smooth out Counters
Counters displayed in the timeline can be smoothed out by specifying a value in the Smooth field
(Figure 12b). The maximum value is 80. Increasing the value will smooth out the counter and the
counter plots become easier to interpret.
View Captured Data over the Entire Time Period
To adjust the graph view such that the captured data is displayed for the entire time period, perform
the following:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
From the menu, select the option called View Selection/All.
Note: The value of the total time period is specified at the bottom of the graph view (Figure 12c).
View the Start of the Captured Data
To adjust the graph view such that the start of the captured data is shown, perform the following:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
From the menu, select the option called View Earliest.
View the End of the Captured Data
To adjust the graph view such that the end of the captured data is shown, perform the following:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
From the menu, select the option called View Latest.
Select a Time Range
A specific region can be selected on a graph during analysis. This can be achieved by using the Ctrl
key while left clicking and dragging on a graph. To deselect an already selected region, press Ctrl
and left click anywhere on the graph. The selection of a time range is relevant when viewing averaged
values over the range (see Section 3.6.1).
Change the Graph View Layout
The layout of the graph view can be quickly changed to a single or split view layout. This is carried out
by using the Single View Layout and Split View Layout options from the View menu (see
Section 0).
Change the Graph Rendering Options
During an analysis task, certain types of data can be shown or hidden on demand in the graph view.
To change the data render options, perform the following:
1.
2.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area, where the change needs to be made. This will
open an action menu.
From the menu, select or remove the options Render 25%, 50%, 75% Quarters, Render
Timing Data or Render Marks, as appropriate. The change will be reflected on the graph.
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Restore the Default Graph View
After changes to the graph view have been made it is possible to revert to default settings, if required.
To achieve this, perform the following:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
Select the option Restore Default View.
Close a Graph in a Multi-Graph View
In a multi-graph view, as in Figure 12, it is possible to close one of the graphs by clicking its
corresponding button to close it (Figure 12d). To display the graph again, restore the graph view to
default.
Add and Remove Tabs
Tabs displaying graphs can be added and removed on demand. This procedure is highlighted in
Section 3.2.1.
Save a Graph as an Image
PVRTune GUI comes with options to allow graphs to be saved as images. There are different modes
for saving a graph as an image and the procedure is next highlighted:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
From the menu, select the desired save settings which are one of Save Image with HUD
(saves „foreground‟ content when mouse hovering over a graph), Save Image (saves image in
the same location as the binary) and Save Image To… (saves image to a user-defined
location).
Pause the View during Connected Analysis
During real-time profiling, the graph view continuously changes with time since the collected data is
dynamic. To pause the view at a given time, perform the following steps:
1.
Right-click a graph in the Timeline area. This will open an action menu.
2.
Select the option Pause View.
Add and Remove Counters to Graph
Counters can be added on demand to the timeline by selecting them from the Counter Table
window and dragging them to the graph. This is covered in more detail in Section 3.6.2.
Note: Some counters, when added to a graph view, may not be immediately visible as a result of very
low or very high Y-axis values. This can be overcome by adjusting the Y-axis scaling of the
counter (see Section “Change the Y-Axis Scaling of a Counter”).
View Events
Several events (also known as marks) are displayed in the timeline in addition to all of the other
information. These marks are signified by bars running from the top of the graph to the bottom (Figure
12e). A full list of the supported events can be found in Section 3.5.3.
Use the Counter Legend
The Timeline area also contains a Counter Legend section which can be used for several
purposes (Figure 12f). See Section 3.6.4 for more details.
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Timing Data
Timing data can be made visible on a graph by choosing the Render Timing Data option from the
action menu displayed when right-clicking the graph (see Section “Change the Graph Rendering
Options”). By default, in a multi-graph view (e.g., using default view settings) the timing data is always
displayed in the bottommost graph.
Figure 13 depicts an example of captured timing data. The timing data is arranged on several
timelines, each with its own label. The timeline labelled Tiler represents the Tile Accelerator (TA)
core time, which is a measure of the time spent in tiling/culling the frame and running vertex shaders.
The timeline labelled Renderer represents Renderer time and is a measure of how much time is
spent fetching textures, processing fragment shaders and other fragment processing tasks. These
timelines represent the two main stages in the Tile Based Deferred Rendering (TBDR) process.
Note: In addition to the Tiler and Renderer timelines, there can also be others depending on the
hardware being profiled. A summary of hardware-specific terms is provided in Appendix A. Also
consult the “PowerVR Hardware Architecture Guide” for a more detailed understanding of the
PowerVR hardware architecture.
Each block displayed in the representation of the timing data corresponds to a given task or activity
within a frame and is colour coded to make the frame, process ID and render target easily identifiable.
In addition to Tiler and Renderer timing data, there can also exist other sets of data for transfer
tasks, 2D core time (for chips with dedicated 2D cores), compute time (for PowerVR Series6 onwards)
and custom timing data sent using PVRScope.
Figure 13. Example of Tiler and Renderer timing data
View Details of Timing Data
A wealth of information can be gained from the timing data by holding the mouse pointer over a task
in the timeline. The information displayed this way details the process ID, the frame number, the total
number of tasks on each timeline (such as Tiler and Renderer) that can be attributed to the same
frame, the time spent on each task, the time spent processing a set of tasks, and the total time spent
processing the frame.
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Transfer Tasks
Transfer tasks represent the time spent processing tasks related to moving large amounts of memory,
such as blitting or texture uploading. Figure 14 shows an example where a series of transfer tasks are
displayed as timing data. These tasks are depicted as a series of grey blocks with pink tips.
Figure 14. Transfer tasks
Task Colour Coding
The displayed timing data is colour coded for convenience of interpretation. Blocks of the same colour
represent a single frame (see Figure 13), where the colours are recycled every sixteen frames. In
addition to the general colour of a block, its top and bottom tips are also coloured. The top tips
represent the process ID, where different colours indicate different process IDs. On the other hand,
the bottom tips represent the render target, where different colours indicate different render targets.
Figure 15 provides an example of task colour coding used in the display of timing data. The core
colour of a task represents a single frame. Each frame is given a core colour (Figure 15a), an
associated process (Figure 15b) and a render target (Figure 15c). Repeated top tip colours refer to
the same process ID. In Figure 15 the tasks were generated by one process, which is indicated
through the use of a single colour (pale blue) across the top tips. Repeated bottom tip colours refer to
the same render targets. In the example, three render targets are present and these are indicated by
the three colours used for the bottom tips of the tasks. In double or triple buffered situations the
render targets are different for each frame, alternating between each of the back buffer targets.
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(b)
(a)
(c)
Figure 15. Example of task colour coding
Driver Timing Data
Driver timing data becomes relevant when PVRTune is used in combination with PVRTrace. The data
is displayed in its own timeline and is represented as a series of tasks labelled with the thread ID that
called the driver. An example of driver timing data is provided in Figure 16.
Figure 16. Example of driver timing data
Note: By default, only the most expensive calls are displayed, e.g., glDrawElements,
glReadPixels, shader compilation and texture uploads. For a more verbose output, open
PVRHub, select Options and set API Function Timing Events to Verbose.
Warning: Setting API Function Timing Events to Verbose may affect performance.
3.5.3.
Event List
Active Counters Changed
This event represents the point at which the active counter group has been changed using some
custom hardware counter group . The event appears as a vertical grey line (Figure 17).
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Figure 17. Example of active counters changed
Event Ordinal Reset
This event is usually hidden by active counters changed. The event represents a change in the
ordering of the counters or counter sources read by PVRPerfServer and appears as a vertical green
line (Figure 18).
Figure 18. Example of event ordinal reset
Custom Mark
Custom marks are marks that have been sent to PVRTune either by a PVRScope enabled application
or by pressing the M key in PVRPerfServer. A custom mark appears as a vertical red line (Figure 19).
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Figure 19. Example of custom mark
Power-off Period
Power-off periods are represented by vertical grey blocks in the graph view (Figure 20). These events
occur when the hardware has gone to sleep or powering down to save power due to a lack of work.
Figure 20. Example of power-off period
Data Loss Period
A data loss period is one during which PVRTune has lost data that was sent by PVRPerfServer. A
data loss period is represented as a vertical green block (Figure 21). There are several possibilities to
minimize data loss, such as:

Decrease device CPU load.

Alter the PVRPerfServer data read rate, using the -c command-line option.

There could be congestion on the network the data is being transmitted on. This can be
alleviated by using a less congested network or by attempting ad-hoc networking.

Save data to a file rather than send it over the network (see Section 2.5.4 for the -sendto=
command-line option for PVRPerfServer).

Reduce the data quantity. This can be achieved by disabling the –periodic= or –graphics=
option via the PVRPerfServer command-line (see Section 2.5.4).
Note: PVRPerfServer command-line options can also be set remotely from PVRTune (see Section
2.5.4).
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Figure 21. Example of data loss period
Hardware Reset Period
Hardware reset periods occur when the hardware locks up and stops responding, possibly due to
firmware or driver error. This usually happens due to the buffer filling up because of the limited
storage available. A hardware reset can be identified as a vertical pink block (Figure 22).
Figure 22. Example of hardware reset period
Smart Parameter Management Mode
The Smart Parameter Management (SPM) mode is used to manage parameters when it bufferoverflows. A Renderer task labelled Renderer SPM Task appears when this mode is activated
(Figure 23).
Figure 23. Example of SPM mode
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Working with Counters
Counter information is listed in the Counter Table window of PVRTune GUI. An example of listed
counters is shown in Figure 24. The counters are organised under different headings (e.g.,
Overview, GPU Advanced, etc.) which can be expanded or collapsed as needed. During connected
analysis, the table also displays the counters available within specific counter groups. In the example,
the Group dropdown box is disabled (Figure 24a) which is normal during offline analysis.
Note: For a full list of default PVRTune counters and their description, refer to the document entitled
“PVRTune Counter List and Description”.
(a)
Figure 24. Counter Table window
3.6.1.
Select Columns to Display
By default, counter data are tabulated following a similar format as shown in Figure 24. Additional
data sets can be customized for display by right-clicking the Counter Table window and choosing
the Select Columns… option, as shown in Figure 25.
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Figure 25. Dialog box for selecting and deselecting columns
Table 5 identifies a summary of the additional columns that can be selected and deselected on
demand.
Table 5. Summary of columns and their description
Column
Description
0.1s to 32s
These values represent time frames. The columns show the average value of
counters over the most recent timespan (e.g., the 32s column gives the average
over the last 32 seconds).
Selected
By selecting a time range (see “Select a Time Range”) and using this checkbox,
it is possible to view the average over the selected region.
Line
This column responds to mouse hover. It shows the values of counters at the
time associated with the position of the mouse in the graph view.
Task
This column responds to mouse hover. It shows the average value of counters
over the time frame of a single Tiler or Renderer task.
Frame
This column responds to mouse hover. It shows the average value of given
counters over the timeframe of a single frame.
View
This column responds to mouse hover. It shows the average value of counters
over the timeframe of the graph for which the cursor is currently over.
Add a Column of Data to the Counter Table
An additional column of data can be included in the Counter Table window by selecting it from the
participating dialog box (Figure 25). Multiple columns can also be chosen if necessary.
Remove a Column of Data from the Counter Table
A column of data can be removed from the Counter Table window by selecting it from the
participating dialog box (Figure 25). Multiple columns can also be chosen if necessary.
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Add a Counter to the Graph View
During connected analysis in PVRTune GUI, counters are updated in real-time and can be plotted
against the timeline to give a graphical representation of their change over time. Counters can also be
added during offline analysis. To add a counter to a graph view, perform the following steps:
1.
Identify the counter that is of interest from the Counter Table window (Figure 24).
2.
Drag and drop the counter from the Counter Table window to an existing graph present in
the Timeline area. This results in the addition of new plotted data on the graph. Figure 26
shows an example where the Frames per second counter, represented by the line graph,
has been added to a graph view with rendered timing data.
Figure 26. Adding a counter to a graph view
Note: A new graph can be created by dragging and dropping a counter to a graph placeholder
available in the Timeline area. A graph placeholder is the narrow area of space located
above or below a graph view. An example is shown in Figure 27.
(a)
Figure 27. Creating a new graph by adding a counter to a graph placeholder
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Remove a Counter from the Graph View
Counters plotted in the graph view can be removed when they are no longer required. To remove a
counter from the graph view, perform the following steps:
1.
In the Timeline area, identify the counter that needs to be removed.
2.
3.
Click the plot corresponding to the counter. This will highlight the plot.
Press Delete to remove the plotted counter data from the graph. The same action can be
achieved by right-clicking the counter plot and selecting the Remove Selected Counter
option from the action menu.
3.6.4.
Counter Legend in the Timeline Area
The Counter Legend is located at the right hand side of the Timeline area and lists the counters
that are only relevant to the plotted graphs (see Figure 12). A number of options are available to
interact with the information displayed in the Counter Legend and these are next discussed.
Highlight a Plot Corresponding to a Counter
In order to highlight a plot for a counter displayed in the Counter Legend, mouse over the name of
the counter.
Add a Column of Data to the Counter Legend
The data sets displayed in the Counter Legend can be customized on demand. In order to do this,
perform the following steps:
1.
2.
Right-click anywhere in the Counter Legend. This will open an action menu with several
options.
Click the Select Column… option. This will open a dialog box to aid the selection of columns
(see Figure 25).
Note: For further information about the description of the various columns and their functions, see
Table 5.
3.
4.
Select the desired column to display by using its corresponding checkbox. Multiple columns can
be chosen if required.
Click the Accept button to apply the changes. The selected column is then added to the
Counter Legend.
Remove a Counter from the Counter Legend
A counter can be removed from the Counter Legend when it is no longer required. To achieve this,
click the counter and hit the Delete key. Alternatively, right-clicking the counter will open an action
menu from which the Delete Selection option can be chosen. Removing a counter from the
Counter Legend also removes its corresponding plot from the graph view.
Remove all Counters from the Counter Legend
All counters displayed in the Counter Legend can be removed on demand. To achieve this, rightclick anywhere in the Counter Legend to open an action menu from which the Delete All option
can be chosen. Removing all counters from the Counter Legend also removes their corresponding
plots from the graph view.
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Remove a Column of Data from the Counter Legend
To remove a column of data from the Counter Legend, perform the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Right-click anywhere in the Counter Legend. This will open an action menu with several
options.
Click the Select Column… option. This will open a dialog box to aid the deselection of
columns (see Figure 25).
Uncheck the desired column by using its corresponding checkboxes. Multiple columns can be
deselected if required.
Click the Accept button to apply the changes. The deselected column is then removed from
the Counter Legend.
3.6.5.
PVRTrace Software Counters
An application is able to send custom software counters to PVRTune via PVRScope. When an
application is being profiled specifically by PVRTrace, the corresponding software counters sent to
PVRTune using PVRScope provide data on certain statistics within the running application.
Enable PVRTrace Software Counters
Software counters can be enabled on different operating systems. The approach to enabling these
counters on Android, Linux, Neutrino and Windows is as follows:

Android: PVRHub should be launched. On the Options screen, ensure that the setting called
Enable Software Counters is enabled. PVRTrace Recording Libraries must be installed
on the device for this to work.

Linux: With PVRHub installed, run pvr_profile <binary> where <binary> is the
application that is required to be profiled with software counters active.

Neutrino and Windows: In the pvrtraceconfig.json file on the device, ensure that for
Profiling the SoftwareCounters and Enabled options are set to true.
List of PVRTrace Software Counters
Table 6 lists the software counters that are available from the PVRTrace libraries.
Table 6. List of PVRTrace software counters
Software counters
Indexed draw calls
Non-indexed draw calls
Points no.
Line no. (list)
Line no. (loop)
Line no. (strip)
Total line no.
Triangle no. (list)
Triangle no. (strip)
Triangle no. (fan)
Total triangle no.
Texture uploads
Texture modifications
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Software counters
Scissor calls
Viewport calls
Frame buffer accesses
Vertex shader compiles
Fragment shader compiles
Program links
Framebuffer access (bytes)
Texture uploads (bytes)
Texture modifications (bytes)
Buffer object uploads (bytes)
Buffer object modifications (bytes)
Uniform uploads
Context binds
Shader proportion: pixel
Shader proportion: vertex
Shader proportion: compute
Vertices per batch
Shader slot scheduled count: compute
Shader slot scheduled count: pixel
Shader slot scheduled count: vertex
Shader slot size: pixel
Shader slot size: vertex
3.6.6.
Counter Properties
PVRTune GUI displays of a wide range of information associated with counters. By exploring the
properties of a counter, it becomes possible to learn more about, e.g., its description and implications
when a high value is recorded, amongst others. The most recently clicked counter is displayed in the
Counter Properties window (Figure 28). The window captures some basic details including the
counter name, associated colour and the maximum value of the Y-axis to be used on the graph view.
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(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 28. Counter Properties window
Change the Colour of a Counter
The user is able to customize the colour of a counter on demand by following these steps:
1.
Identify the counter that is of interest either from the Counter Table window (see Figure 24)
or from the Counter Legend in the Timeline area.
2.
Select the counter by clicking it. This will display the properties of the counter in the Counter
Properties window (Figure 28).
3.
Click the colour icon associated with the counter (Figure 28a). This will open a colour picker
from which a suitable substitute colour can be chosen.
Select the desired colour from the colour picker.
Click OK to complete the procedure.
4.
5.
Change the Y-Axis Scaling of a Counter
The ability to change the Y-axis scaling of a counter is a handy feature that allows small and large
value plots to be scaled for visibility and interpretation. This can be achieved by using the Y Axis
field provided in the Counter Properties window (Figure 28b). For particularly large value plots
(such as transformations per frame) it is necessary to enter a large scale. On the other hand, for very
small value plots (such as frame time) it is necessary to enter a fractional value.
View the Description of a Counter
Counter description is very important as it helps data interpretation and analysis. To view the
description of a counter, perform the following step:
1.
Identify the counter that is of interest either from the Counter Table window (see Figure 24)
or from the Counter Legend in the Timeline area.
2.
Select the counter by clicking it. This will display the properties of the counter in the Counter
Properties window (Figure 28).
3.
Interpret the detailed information provided (Figure 28c).
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3.7.
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Process ID (PID) Window
The PID window in PVRTune GUI displays a list of the individual connections being used in the
recording. It only displays the known PIDs relevant to the operation and not all the PIDs running on
the system are listed.
Figure 29. PID window
Note: If no name can be depicted in the Name column, inspect the --pid command-line option from
PVRPerfServer (see Section 2.5.4).
3.8.
Remote Editor Window
This functionality allows for real-time, remote editing of shaders and various numerical value
adjustments. PVRScope-enabled applications can register data as being editable or readable by
PVRTune. The value of this data can then be passed by PVRScope, via PVRPerfServer, to
PVRTune. Any value that has been registered appears in the Remote Editor window in PVRTune
GUI (Figure 30). Values can be edited using the options provided in the window and the changes are
automatically sent back to the application.
Figure 30. Remote Editor window
Note: For more information on PVRScope refer to the “PVRScope User Manual”.
3.9.
Renderstate Override Window
The renderstate override functionality in PVRTune permits the user to remotely control the renderstate
of a target device. This provides a useful means of prototyping render changes as well as enabling
the quick identification of obscure bottlenecks. The renderstate override functionality is accessible
from the Renderstate Override window and in order to use it, PVRTrace profiling mode should
be enabled.
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Figure 31. Renderstate Override window
Table 7 provides a list of the various renderstate override options as well as their description.
Table 7. Explanation of renderstate override options
Option
Description
Force zero viewport
Modifies the viewport to have zero sized dimensions.
Disable blending
Disables alpha blending.
Force 2x2 textures
Forces textures to be 2 pixels by 2 pixels in size.
Force flat colour frag
shader
Forces the fragment shader to output a single colour.
Disable stencil test
Disables the stencil test.
Disable depth test
Disables the depth test.
Disable scissor test
Disables the scissor test.
Disable draw calls
Disables all glDraw() function calls.
Disable flush and
finish
Disables all glFlush() and glFinish() function calls.
Disable texture
modifications
Disables glTexSubImage2D() and glTexSubImage3D(). This
disables the updating of texture sub-regions.
Disable texture
filtering
Disables texture filters. All texture filters are set to the nearest point.
Disable discard /
alpha test
Disables the alpha test.
Disable frame buffer
accesses
Disables glReadPixels() function calls.
Culling mode: App
defined
Forces the culling mode to perform culling as defined in the user
application.
Culling mode: None
Disables culling.
Culling mode: Back
Forces the culling mode to perform back-face culling.
Culling mode: Front
Forces the culling mode to perform front-face culling.
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3.9.1.
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OpenGL ES Timing Data
In some situations, in addition to the Tiler and Renderer processing times, it is also useful to know
more about how the API graphics calls are processed by the driver. This mode of operation shows
timing data being pulled out of PVRTrace recording libraries – visualised as a graph displaying the
draw calls as well as EGL swap buffer operations. This is configurable, which means that it is possible
to see all or specific EGL calls. By being able to record OpenGL ES timing data this way you can gain
further insight into how, for example, work is cascading up through the graphics pipeline, from the
driver to the CPU. This can, consequently, help you isolate any bottlenecks you might be
experiencing.
3.10. Find Window
PVRTune GUI comes with a search capability which is helpful for quickly finding information. The
Find window (Figure 32) allows the user to input search terms and the retrieved results are narrowed
down using an incremental search approach.
A number of items can be searched this way, including activities (e.g., Renderer), marks (e.g., abc),
counters (e.g., triangles per), frames (e.g., 40000), PIDs (e.g., 4242), time as per the X-axis in
the graph view (e.g., 1200), and time range by separating two numbers with a pair of dots (e.g.,
1200.1..1200.2).
Figure 32. Find window
Note: Counters can be dragged and dropped from the Find window to the graph view in order to
generate new counter plots.
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4. Identifying Bottlenecks
The ability to identify bottlenecks is vital when analysing the performance of an application. Section
3.4 and Section 3.9 have previously explained two of the features of PVRTune for monitoring graphics
core workloads and renderstate, respectively, in the effort to help identify some types of bottlenecks.
This section explains how to identify bottlenecks using the graph view. The bottlenecks usually fall
into one of five categories:

CPU limited.

Vertex limited.

V-Sync limited.

Fragment limited.

Bandwidth limited.
4.1.
CPU Limited
A CPU limited application is often identifiable as an application suffering from poor performance or
frame rate even though the graphics core usage is not high. In PVRTune this can be very easily
identified since CPU limited applications have a CPU load that is either at or near one hundred
percent (Figure 33a), or is widely variable.
(c)
(a)
(b)
Figure 33. Identifying CPU limited applications
Other identifying factors include gaps in the Shader load, caused by the PowerVR hardware going to
sleep while waiting for further instructions (Figure 33b) and regular visible gaps between frames when
displaying timing data (Figure 33c).
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Vertex Limited
Vertex limited applications are applications where the bottleneck comes from processing either large
amounts of vertices per frame, or from the use of a complex vertex shader, or both. This can be
identified by large gaps between Renderer tasks (Figure 34a) while there is little or no gap between
Tiler tasks (Figure 34b).
(c)
(d)
(a)
(b)
Figure 34. Identifying vertex limited applications
Further information can be gained from the Processing load: Vertex and the Tiler load
counters. If Tiler load is high (Figure 34c) but Processing load: Vertex is not then the
scene has too many vertices in it and the cost is coming from the tiling process. On the other hand, if
Processing load: Vertex is high (Figure 34d) but Tiler load is not, then the bottleneck is
likely to be in the vertex shader.
4.3.
V-Sync Limited
Vertical Synchronisation (V-Sync) is a display option that forces an application to synchronize
graphical updates with the update rate of the screen. This causes some frames to be slightly delayed
and enforces a maximum refresh rate, but reduces screen tearing and can save power. V-Sync
limited applications are often characterized by intermittent gaps between frames in the graph view,
and the frame rate appears to be limited at a set maximum value. If possible, V-sync should be
disabled when profiling an application as it adds noise to the PVRTune output and this makes it more
difficult to diagnose where optimization work could be beneficial or if completed optimization has been
successful.
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4.4.
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Fragment Limited
Fragment limited applications are very common and occur in most scenes that have fewer vertices
than the number of pixels in the framebuffer. Fragment limited applications can be identified when
there is the presence of no gaps between Renderer tasks (Figure 35a), large gaps between Tiler
tasks (Figure 35b), a high value of Processing load: Pixel (Figure 35c) or high Shader clock
cycles per pixel (Figure 35d).
(c)
(a)
(d)
(b)
Figure 35. Identifying fragment limited applications
4.5.
Bandwidth Limited
Cases of bandwidth limited applications are both hard to visualize and identify, as they may appear as
other bottlenecks. Programs may be bandwidth limited if:

Timeline shows the application to be fragment limited but the Processing load: Pixel is
low.

Timeline shows the application to be vertex limited but the Processing load: Vertex and
Tiler load are low.
Other instances of bandwidth limitation may occur. For example, if many units are accessing memory
simultaneously then the available system memory bandwidth limits can slow all operations on the
hardware. This is platform specific and, as such, there is no counter to record it. As a rule of thumb,
action should always be taken to reduce bandwidth use whenever possible through the correct use of
texture compression, mesh optimisation and by avoiding unnecessary texture reads, etc.
Note: Bandwidth in System-on-Chip (SoC) devices is shared amongst all components of the chip.
Non-graphics processor areas of the chip using large amounts of bandwidth may still cause
application graphics to be bandwidth limited.
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5. Contact Details
For further support, visit our forum:
http://forum.imgtec.com
Or file a ticket in our support system:
https://pvrsupport.imgtec.com
To learn more about our PowerVR Graphics SDK and Insider programme, please visit:
http://www.powervrinsider.com
For general enquiries, please visit our website:
http://imgtec.com/corporate/contactus.asp
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Appendix A.
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Hardware Terms: Quick Reference
Table 8 identifies a list of hardware terms in order to make it easier for the user to interpret the
statistics displayed in PVRTune. For a more detailed interpretation, refer to the help function in the
software itself as the statistics will change depending on the hardware.
Table 8. Quick reference of hardware terms
Term
Description
Tiler
The Tiler is responsible for processing the vertices and tiling. This includes
transforming vertices, culling, clipping and storing the data. The timing data contains
the TA and Shader processing operations.
Renderer
The Renderer is responsible for processing the fragments within a given tile and the
timing data contains all the ISP, TSP and fragment processing operations.
TA
The Tile Accelerator (TA) takes geometric data that has been transformed by the
shader processor as input and clips, projects and culls it. The TA Core timing data
contains vertex processing and tile setup.
TSP
The Texture and Shading Processor (TSP) performs interpolation and schedules
tasks for the shader processor and texture data pre-fetches.
ISP
The Image Synthesis Processor (ISP) is responsible for per-tile Hidden Surface
Removal (HSR) to ensure that the fragments processed by the TSP are only those
that will affect the rendered image.
Shader
The PowerVR shader processor is a flexible, multi-threaded processor capable of
executing vertex, fragment, graphics core instructions and issuing memory access
operations (such as texture fetches).
Compute
Series6 only: The Compute Core is dedicated to compute tasks issued via the
Compute Data Master (CDM). Compute timing data includes the programmable
arithmetic handled by the shader processor.
Note: Refer to the “PowerVR Hardware Architecture Guide” for a more detailed understanding of the
PowerVR hardware architecture.
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Imagination Technologies, the Imagination Technologies logo, AMA, Codescape, Ensigma, IMGworks, I2P,
PowerVR, PURE, PURE Digital, MeOS, Meta, MBX, MTX, PDP, SGX, UCC, USSE, VXD and VXE are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Imagination Technologies Limited. All other logos, products,
trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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